Top 5 web design tips for a professional site

While beautiful design and engaging content contribute a lot to a successful website, you cannot overlook the value of a functional site that’s easy to use and understand.

We’re not saying that you should conform to a particular style, but rather that it’s a good idea to utilise tried and tested ground rules that will enable you to create a website that attracts and converts traffic- all without sacrificing your unique design.

1 – Keep the homepage minimalistic

The last thing anyone wants when visiting a website is to be welcomed by a confusing mess of unnecessary ads and pop-ups. Use large subheadings and short sentences that appeal to the reader’s emotions, and include relevant keywords in all of your content so that it’s simple to understand.

Also, the text leading up to your call to action must be engaging, short, sweet and clear. Essentially, the homepage should make it easy for the visitors to scrutinise what’s in front of them so they can find what they’re looking for faster.

2 – Keep visual hierarchy in mind

While catchy titles and exciting design will attract users to your site, it’s the visual arrangement of the content which will make them stay longer. Basically, there needs to be a clear arrangement of the content so that it attracts the reader’s attention while letting them know exactly what you’re all about.

Use the contrast between colours, as well as size and spacing, to draw the reader’s attention to your content. Strips are the perfect example of how using this technique will create a visually compelling and effective website.

3 – Create easy to read content

People want to read words, sentences, and phrases that they recognise and use in their daily lives. The easier it is to read your content, the easier it will be for users to understand your message.

Here are some helpful rules to follow so that you can achieve a high readability:

The text colour you choose to use should contrast well with the background so that the content is simple to read. For example, a dark purple background will make it easier to read the yellow coloured text, whereas pastel coloured text on a white background will be challenging for most people.

Use a reasonably sized font that’ll make it easier to read the words from afar. 16pt is a popular option for most sites and is a good starting point for almost anyone.

Use a Serif font instead of the Sans-Serif type. The Sans-Serif font is the kind that looks like cursive, which is almost always difficult to read, while Serif fonts like Times New Roman or Ariel are the most convenient and attractive options.

If you’re going to use multiple fonts, try and keep it to three and no more, as combining more can create a really cluttered look.

4 – Make sure your site is easy to navigate

Enhance the user experience by making sure that your website is simple and easy to navigate. You can do this by linking your home page to your logo, placing your menu at the top of the page; and using an anchor menu if you have a long list of options for your customers to choose from.

5 – Build a mobile-friendly website

Because we live in a smartphone-obsessed society, it’s important that your website automatically switches to mobile-friendly mode when being viewed from a mobile device. While most web design packages feature this as a standard option, it’s important to test it out for yourself to make sure that your website is user-friendly.